SearchSystems Editorial

Reviewed and updated October 4, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The crime counts are the ones nine agencies reported to the FBI for 2025. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data, latest year 2025. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and September 25, 2026.

About this guide

Santa Barbara County, California, has about 444,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). No single office holds its records: the county, the state, the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara and the cities and towns each keep their own. The sections below take them one at a time, beginning with the crime counts its police agencies reported, with each office's own phone, address and page where it publishes them.

In this guide: Crime numbers, Jail and arrests, Warrants, Criminal records, District Attorney, Police reports, Sex offender registry, Court records, Traffic tickets, DUI, Divorce records, Deeds and property, Records requests, Which office covers your city, Other counties and Questions.

California guides: Arrest Records · Inmate Search · Criminal Records · Background Checks · Wants and Warrants · Sex Offender Registry · Court Records · Property Records · Recorded Documents · Public Records Law · People Search

Crime Numbers in Santa Barbara County, 2025

Police agencies report crimes to the FBI in two groups, violent (murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault) and property (burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson). In Santa Barbara County the reports come from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office, with a separate count for each of the cities of Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Carpinteria, Solvang, Buellton, Goleta, Lompoc and Guadalupe, and 2025 is the latest year with all twelve months in.

Over 2025 the nine agencies with all twelve months reported 1,856 violent and 5,557 property crimes. Among the eight of them that also reported all of 2024, violent crime fell from 1,904 in 2024 to 1,843 in 2025, down 3.2 percent, and property crime fell from 6,134 in 2024 to 5,502 in 2025, down 10 percent. That is 693 fewer crimes in all.

  • Santa Maria: 697 violent and 2,026 property crimes in 2025, down 5.8 percent from 2,890 in 2024.
  • Santa Barbara: 551 violent and 1,449 property crimes in 2025, down 6.1 percent from 2,131 in 2024.
  • Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office: 293 violent and 936 property crimes in 2025, down 1.5 percent from 1,248 in 2024.
  • Lompoc: 175 violent and 464 property crimes in 2025, down 24 percent from 843 in 2024.
  • Goleta: 67 violent and 378 property crimes in 2025, down 25 percent from 595 in 2024.
  • Carpinteria: 42 violent and 161 property crimes in 2025, up 1.5 percent from 200 in 2024.

Through July 2026, the eight agencies with every month in so far counted 1,049 violent and 2,690 property crimes, against 1,011 and 3,282 in the same months of 2025.

The monthly counts are published by the FBI at cde.ucr.cjis.gov, and California publishes its own statewide tables on OpenJustice.

Arrests, Jail and Inmate Search in Santa Barbara County

The county jail is where people arrested in Santa Barbara County are held until they post bond, are released or are sentenced. The jail roster lists each person held, the charges and the bond.

On an average day in 2025 the jail held about 770 people, down from about 950 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 915 beds, and it ran at 86 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.

Who is in custody

The jail and inmate page SearchSystems verified for Santa Barbara County:

People sentenced to prison serve the sentence in a facility of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, whose inmate locator is at cdcr.ca.gov/search.

SearchSystems' California inmate search guide and arrest records guide explain how arrest and custody records work across California.

Warrants in Santa Barbara County

Warrants in Santa Barbara County come from the courts: a judge of the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara signs one on a prosecutor's complaint or when a defendant fails to appear, and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office or the city police serve it. The warrant then sits in the case file at the court that issued it.

The California wants and warrants guide covers the statewide picture.

Criminal Records and Background Checks in Santa Barbara County

California does not let the public search anyone's statewide criminal history. The official record, kept by the California Department of Justice, goes to the person it belongs to and to employers and agencies the law authorizes. For everyone else the court files of individual cases in Santa Barbara County are the public record (see the court section below).

Your own California record

To see your own record, the route is a Record Review through Live Scan fingerprinting, form BCIA 8016RR. The state fee is $25. The response cannot be used for immigration or visa purposes. Details are on the California Department of Justice page.

Local records in Santa Barbara County

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office keeps its own arrest and booking files for Santa Barbara County, separate from the state repository, and some sheriffs issue a local clearance letter from them. The prosecutions themselves are in the files of the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara.

The California criminal records guide and background check guide explain who may legally check whom, and what each route costs.

District Attorney for Santa Barbara County

The District Attorney is the charging office for Santa Barbara County: it reviews arrests from every police agency in the county and files the cases in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara. Plea offers, restitution and victim notification go through it; copies of filings come from the court.

  • Website: da.countyofsb.org (page title: Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office)
  • Phone: (805) 568-2300
  • Checked: September 23, 2026, the page answered.

Sheriff and Police Reports in Santa Barbara County

Reports are released by the agency that took them. In Santa Barbara County that means the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office for the unincorporated county and for any city that contracts with it for police service, and a city's own police department where the city has one. Under the California Public Records Act the agency must answer within 10 days, with up to 14 more days in unusual circumstances. It may charge the direct cost of copying only, not staff time.

SearchSystems has a guide to the city offices of Santa Maria, Lompoc, Goleta, Solvang and Buellton.

Sex Offender Registry for Santa Barbara County

Registered sex offenders living in Santa Barbara County are listed on the Megan's Law website, run by the California Department of Justice at meganslaw.ca.gov. The registry is tiered; some registrants are kept off the public site and others are shown by ZIP code only.

Registrants report in person to the local agency where they live (the sheriff's office, or the city police in a city with its own department), and those offices keep the local file the state site is built from.

The California sex offender registry guide explains the tiers and the notification rules.

Court Records and Case Search in Santa Barbara County

In Santa Barbara County, the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara hears every civil, criminal, family, probate, traffic and juvenile case. The Superior Court clerk keeps the files.

The court records page SearchSystems verified

California has no single statewide index of trial court cases; each court's records are looked up through that court. The state court system's page SearchSystems verified is at courts.ca.gov/policy-administration/public-records/who-where-how-vi....

The California court records guide covers copy fees, certified copies and sealed records statewide.

Traffic Tickets and Driving Records in Santa Barbara County

A traffic ticket written in Santa Barbara County is answered in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara. The ticket itself is a court case, and the court's index is the record of it.

The driving record is a separate document from the court file. It is kept by the California Department of Motor Vehicles, which adds each conviction the court reports and handles suspensions; the court does not issue driving records.

DUI Arrests and Records in Santa Barbara County

Drunk driving is charged as DUI in California, at a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or more. In Santa Barbara County a DUI arrest goes the same way whoever makes it: a person who is held is booked at the county jail, and the case is charged by the District Attorney in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara.

The court case is only half the record. The DMV runs a separate administrative case over the license, which can suspend it before the criminal case is decided. For sentencing, California counts prior offenses within 10 years.

Divorce Records in Santa Barbara County

Divorce records are not vital records in California. The decree and the file are court records of the Superior Court's family law division, and certified copies come from the Superior Court clerk, not from the County Recorder.

For Santa Barbara County the court records page is santabarbara.courts.ca.gov. Most of a divorce file is public once the case is closed; financial declarations, records about children and anything the court sealed are not.

For divorces granted between 1962 and June 1984 the California Department of Public Health can issue a Certificate of Record, which confirms the names, the county and the case number but is not a copy of the judgment.

Property Records, Deeds and Parcel Search in Santa Barbara County

Two county offices share the property record in Santa Barbara County. The County Recorder records the deeds, mortgages, liens and easements that affect title to land, and sells copies of them. The County Assessor handles the assessment side: the value each parcel is taxed on and the parcel maps. Under Proposition 13 a property's assessed value is set when it changes hands and can rise no more than 2 percent a year after that, so a home owned for decades is often assessed far below its market value.

Recorded documents

Property values

The California property records guide and recorded documents guide explain how to read a deed index and what a title search costs.

Public Records Requests in Santa Barbara County

Any record of a county office in Santa Barbara County that is not posted online can be requested under the California Public Records Act. The request goes to the office that holds the record, in writing, and does not need to say why you want it. The office must answer within 10 days, with up to 14 more days in unusual circumstances. It may charge the direct cost of copying only, not staff time. Court records are outside the act and follow the court's own rules.

The California public records law guide has the appeal route when a request is denied.

Which Office Covers Your City in Santa Barbara County

Wherever an arrest happens in Santa Barbara County, the jail is the county jail, the court is the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara and the deed records are with the County Recorder. What changes from city to city is the police agency: the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office for the unincorporated county and for any city that contracts with it for police service, and a city's own police department where the city has one.

The FBI publishes separate crime counts for eight of these cities: Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Carpinteria, Solvang, Buellton, Goleta, Lompoc and Guadalupe; the crime section above has the numbers.

Cities in Santa Barbara County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; the linked names open SearchSystems' guide to that city's own offices:

Frequently Asked Questions

Did crime go up or down in Santa Barbara County in 2025?

Down 8.6 percent. The eight agencies with all of 2024 and 2025 reported 7,345 crimes in 2025 against 8,038 in 2024: 1,843 violent against 1,904, and 5,502 property against 6,134. One more agency reported only part of one of the two years and is not in this comparison.

How many people are in the Santa Barbara County jail?

About 770 on an average day in 2025, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 915 beds.

How do I find out if someone is in jail in Santa Barbara County?

Check the roster on the jail page SearchSystems verified at sbsheriff.org, or call 805-683-2724. It shows each person held, the charges and the bond.

Are criminal records public in Santa Barbara County?

Court files of criminal cases in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the California Department of Justice is not public; you can get your own for $25.

Can I search Santa Barbara County court cases online?

The records page of the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara is at santabarbara.courts.ca.gov.

What is the DUI law in Santa Barbara County?

California charges it as DUI at 0.08 or above. The criminal case is heard in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara. The license case is handled separately by the DMV.

How do I get a copy of a divorce decree in Santa Barbara County?

From the Superior Court's family law division, through the Superior Court clerk (santabarbara.courts.ca.gov). For divorces granted between 1962 and June 1984 the California Department of Public Health can issue a Certificate of Record, which confirms the names, the county and the case number but is not a copy of the judgment.

Who records deeds in Santa Barbara County?

The County Recorder, at records.sbcrecorder.com, phone (805) 568-2250. Deeds, mortgages and liens on land in Santa Barbara County are filed there, and the County Assessor (sbcassessor.com) has the assessment records.

How long does Santa Barbara County have to answer a records request?

Under the California Public Records Act, the answer is due within 10 days, with up to 14 more days in unusual circumstances. The request goes to the office that holds the record.

Is this the official Santa Barbara County website?

No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.

Population
444K
County Seat
Santa Barbara
Libraries
13
Schools
122